Determining the Professional Tasks of Family Nurses through the Viewpoints of Nurses, Families, Physicians, and Managers

Introduction: Our country needs expert nurses who are professional in family nursing. As a result, it is required to determine their professional duties as a basis for future planning for new disciplines and new majors such as family nursing. This study is an endeavor to determine a portion of professional tasks of family nurses via the viewpoints of physicians (family physicians and specialists), families, nurses, managers of health care centers, and administrators of private and public hospitals. Methods: In this descriptive cross-sectional study in the year 2010 in Isfahan, study population included multiple groups of families who were covered by Isfahan health centers, nurses employed in public hospitals of Isfahan, family physicians, specialists, and managers of private and public health care centers. Families and nurses were selected through multi-stage cluster sampling, family physicians and specialist were chosen via simple random sampling, and managers were selected randomly among managers volunteered for participation in the study. Data gathering method was interview and focus groups were employed for completing and modifying the tasks. After determining the viewpoints, the tasks were categorized based on interview items and research objectives. Overlapping items and the number of repetitions were determined and were written beside each item. Results: Based on the viewpoints of study groups, 59 items were determined from families' viewpoints, 30 items from nurses', 25 items from family physicians', 15 items from family physicians', and 31 items from managers. After integration, elimination of the repeated items, and finalization in focus group, 32 items were remained. Conclusion: With regard to the need for future planning to train family nurses, there is a need for defining their professional tasks. Findings of the study could be used in curriculum development of this discipline.